NH bill to allow hemp farming in DEA hands

WashingtonPost.com — A bill to protect industrial hemp from being tagged as an illicit drug is getting a hearing this week by the New Hampshire Senate.

The House-passed bill would forbid industrial hemp, a botanical cousin to marijuana, from being listed as a controlled substance. It would only go into effect after the Drug Enforcement Agency certifies that at least two other New England states have adopted such legislation.

Supporters say hemp was once an important crop in the United States, but has not been grown in New Hampshire for decades. They say the plant has low levels of THC, a principal chemical in cannabis, than marijuana and can be used for a variety of non-illicit products.